Starting a business in the Year of the Rooster

China, Europe, Africa, from wherever your family originates, living in a multicultural society means we get to enjoy each other’s traditions.

We also get to enjoy each other’s point of view, and this Chinese New Year it’s interesting to see what the Chinese zodiac predicts about the year ahead.

Babies born between 28 January 2017 and 15 February 2018 are said to be born in the Year of the Fire Rooster, and certain traits and characteristics are believed to be written in their stars.

But what if it’s an altogether different kind of ‘baby’ that’s born in the Year of the Fire Rooster?

Hallmarks of a Fire Rooster startup

Is your business ‘baby’, or startup, due to be ‘born’ in 2017?

Chinese astrologists pair each zodiac year not only with an animal sign, but also one of five elements. This year, Rooster is associated with the element of fire – a rare combination which was last seen in 1957 – and promises great things for those who are prepared to work hard.

Roosters are the most motivated of all the 12 animals in the Chinese zodiac. Businesses starting up in the Year of the Rooster are reliable, versatile and can deal with a variety of tasks.

Always active, amusing and popular within a crowd, Rooster businesses can expect this to play out in their marketing and social media planning.

Roosters are fine-looking creatures and known for preening, so businesses born this year are likely to have their branding and visual identity in gold-standard order.

Throwing the element of fire into the character-trait mix brings in dynamism, strength and persistence, which are particularly important for the startup journey.

The downside of this is that restlessness can set in, so cementing a firm vision and business plan should offset this.

Fire also brings warmth, enthusiasm and creativity onto the scene, but too much of it can make for a tempestuous atmosphere. Fire Rooster startups should work hard on their business’s culture to make sure only the positive aspects of these warm traits shine through.

Attracting luck – and avoiding misfortune

Lucky numbers for Fire Roosters are 5, 7 and 8 and combinations of those numbers, for example 87 or 75.

Choosing between level 6 and 7 of a nearby office building? If there’s no obvious distinguishing feature, a cautious Rooster would go for level 7. A cautious Rooster would also avoid the numbers 1, 3 and 9 and combinations of those.

Choosing your office colour scheme with your interior designer? Gold, brown and yellow are the lucky colours for Roosters – hardly surprising since these are the colours of the bird – and colours to avoid are white green and red.

A Fire Rooster business starting up in a city or town would do well to choose a location either south or southeast of the centre – and would avoid settling in the east.

Choosing the fourth or twenty-sixth of any Chinese lunar month is auspicious for Fire Rooster startups, and the second, fifth or eleventh Chinese lunar months are particularly lucky.

Businesses particularly well suited to starting up in the Year of the Fire Rooster are hair salons, dental practices, PR agencies, restaurants and security services.

Happily, Kelly from the China Highlights zodiac page assures Roosters that they can “earn a significant amount” but “need to remember that there is no reward without input” – which is pretty good advice for any startup, really.